Summary Synthesis: At the Finish Line

I came to Plymouth State University in fall of 2014 with the hopes of becoming a Registered Nurse in the ICU. After 3.5 years of doing something I thought I loved, my heart steered away from what I thought I wanted to do for a career. Right before my senior year, I switched majors and decided to come to Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Health Science. I have not looked back since, and am grateful that I can graduate on time doing something I want to do.

Health Science is very broad and can include a multitude of things. I have taken a handful of health related classes including psychological health, nutritional courses, and nursing classes of course. Something that has resonated with me throughout my college career is the amount of stress students are put under during the academic year. For my applied project, I wanted to see what other students in college/university thought about stress during their time in school. Mental health is something so important and valuable for people at the college age. Good mental health leads to physical and sociological health and has so many benefits for the human body overall. During my study, I found that college students are more stressed out than you think, and cope in ways that are extremely healthy.

Because the topic of stress is something I am interested in, I wanted to do some research about stress as well. Instead of focussing on stress in general, I wanted to focus on a coping mechanism for stress. Personally, being outside helps me cope with the stress I have almost daily. For my research article, I researched if outdoor activity reduced stress. I was curious to find if there was scientific evidence to back this theory up, and also asked around to see what others thought. I was pleased with my results of the research and thought to information was not only useful to me, but useful to others.

Although I have only been apart of Interdisciplinary Studies for a year, I have learned more about myself and have gained more confidence in my practice. I am passionate about the health of the human body and feel that stress impacts our bodies in many ways. I know both my research article and applied project focussed on this topic and have enlightened the mind of myself and the minds of others. Instead of feeling ashamed of changing my major, I feel relieved and excited to see what the next chapter of my education will be.